This invention relates to an article display apparatus, and more particularly to a portable display unit for dispensing articles such as soda cans in which the articles are stacked in vertical columns within a transparent housing.
The marketing concept commonly known as "impulse" buying has been effectively used in a variety of retail establishments, including supermarkets and convenience food stores. The idea behind impulse buying is that customers must see certain products before they are motivated to buy. In order to promote impulse buying, such products must be displayed attractively and at a location in the store which most customers are likely to pass by.
One aspect of impulse buying, particularly for food products requiring refrigeration, has been the development of article displays having transparent doors or walls with shelves angled upwardly from front to back so that all articles on the shelves may be seen by customers. Refrigerated display devices most commonly in use today are typically wall-mounted units having clear glass doors which open to an interior provided with a number of angled shelves filled with product.
Permanent wall-mounted article display devices of the type described above present several limitations from the standpoint of promoting effective impulse buying. Only the front panel or door of such display devices is clear and thus the product it contains can only be viewed from one direction. In addition, the wall-mounted units are permanently mounted and not portable to various locations around the store. Items such as soft drinks, wine, prepared sandwiches and the like might sell much more quickly if the display apparatus could be moved to a location near the checkout counters of a store or other areas of high customer traffic. Marketing with impulse buying is effective only when the customer views the product, and permanently mounted wall units often are located in areas of low customer traffic.
Portable, refrigerated display devices have been proposed to improve the effectiveness of impulse marketing compared to wall-mounted displays. Portable, refrigerated displays generally include a clear housing mounted atop a base having rollers for movement of the display to the desired location. The housing includes a plurality of spaced shelves which are accessible by opening a single door mounted to the housing. Display devices of this type permit 360.degree. viewing of the articles placed therein and are portable.
However, such portable devices also have limitations. The large access doors in their housings must be swung outwardly for removal of articles contained therein. This limits where the display may be positioned because the door could interfere with customer traffic if it opened into an aisle or against a counter or display. In addition, the openings to the refrigerated interior of such portable display devices must be large to permit access to all of the shelves. Unfortunately, these openings allow extensive amounts of ambient air to enter and warm their interiors. As a result, the refrigeration units for such displays usually become inefficient to run, and the clear, glass walls of their housings become fogged with condensed moisture.